72.51 lakh awarded in accident claims case

New Delhi, Aug 31 (UNI) Twenty years after he was crippled for life in an accident, the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal awarded a former employee of the Indian Oil Corporation a compensation of Rs 72.51 lakh today.

Ashok Kumar, a 23-year-old MBA who had just begun his career with the IOC, was paralysed below the waist when the scooter he was driving was hit by a three-wheeler on August 28, 1986 near the Jail Road in the Janakpuri locality of West Delhi.

The young man continued working with the IOC till 2004 when he was discharged from service on the recommendations of a medical board set up by the company.

Additional District Judge Gurdeep Singh, also the Tribunal's presiding officer, noted that the accident left Mr Kumar crippled for life and spoiled his chances of marriage.

He had to employ an attendant, was wheelchair-bound and his expenses, as a result of his disability shot up to Rs 50,000 a month, the judge noted while asking the National Insurance Company and the driver of the three-wheeler that had hit Mr Kumar's scooter to compensate the man within a month.

UNI XC MSJ PM1803